There is no Dantonio preview press conference scheduled yet, either. Last year, it was held two days before the Spartans began their workouts. Coaches and players typically have been made available for interviews weekly during his first 10 years.

“Some things change, some things do not as we move through the process,” Dantonio said in his opening statement on March 21, 2016. “I think spring ball basically is sort of the beginning of the next phase for us.”

MSU is awaiting the results of a three-pronged investigation, with three unnamed players suspended from team activities and a football staff member suspended with pay. The players are part of a criminal investigation into an alleged sexual assault, and Ingham County Prosecutor Carol Siemon returned the case to Michigan State University Police last Thursday for further investigation. There also is a Title IX inquiry into the football staff’s handling of it and an independent investigation by an outside law firm into the entire program.

That doesn’t even get into the upcoming position battles – including a second straight quarterback competition, with sophomore Brian Lewerke the front-runner – and any other injuries or changes within a program coming off a 3-9 season.

This is the earliest in Dantonio’s 11 springs for the Spartans to begin workouts and the first February start. Last year, MSU opened spring practices a month later than this year. In part, that was because the Spartans’ season extended to Dec. 31 and the College Football Playoff. They did not make a bowl game in 2016, finishing their season with a 45-12 loss at Penn State on Nov. 26.